


petrichor

by ctrl_plus_c



Series: Rarepair Week except im extremely late for it [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Non-Binary Neji Hyuga, Past Character Death, Past Child Abuse, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Uchiha Sasuke Has Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-20
Updated: 2020-09-20
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:35:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26497999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ctrl_plus_c/pseuds/ctrl_plus_c
Summary: Sasuke and Neji light candles and talk
Relationships: Hyuuga Neji/Uchiha Sasuke
Series: Rarepair Week except im extremely late for it [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1926454
Comments: 1
Kudos: 28





	petrichor

**Author's Note:**

> This is if the Sasuke Recovery Mission went well.

Sasuke adjusted the pillow pressed between his thighs and chest, watching Neji's back as they lit the candles in the room. Blue candles that smelled of soil after rain had passed, an earthy scent that they both found pleasing. He could never look at the burning candles, as the flames burned into his eyes and mind, reminding him too much of his past.

"There." Neji announced as they lit the last of four candles, setting the lighter atop the dresser. They undid the ponytail holding their hair in place before climbing on the bed beside Sasuke, laying on their back and staring up at the ceiling. It wasn't long before wax began to melt and the scented candles began doing their job, petrichor filling the room.

His fingers nimbly worked at a seam coming undone on his pants, slowly making the hole larger. He had questions to ask Neji, ones that he hadn't asked before. He didn't know how, the questions seeming too personal to ever dump onto Neji, he didn't want them to tumble over the same questions he was. "Did you... ever think about leaving?"

"Hm?" Pale lavender eyes turned towards him, waiting for a repeat of the question.

"Did you ever think about leaving?" He said again, with more certainty.

Neji's gaze turned back to the ceiling, and Sasuke couldn't tell what they were thinking. Was asking really just a mistake? Or was Neji just contemplating their answer, thinking it over to make sure he was being honest and true? Two more questions Sasuke wanted answers to.

"No. I was still angry, however." Angry about the cruelties of their clan? Angry about their fate? Neji needed to be more specific, Sasuke didn't know if he could understand them. Angry about being asked such a ridiculous question? Being compared to Sasuke?

"...About what?"

Neji went silent, cupping their hands over their stomach. They looked like a work of art, with their hair splayed out around their head, dark strands laying on the pillow neatly. Neji was in no way delicate, nothing like glass no matter what color his eyes were. Yet as Sasuke leaned back, allowing his head to hit the pillow beside Neji, all he could see was how fragile they used to be, how the Hyuga clan toughened him up beyond relief, taught him to push away his emotions and become a stone wall.

"Everything." They whispered after a long time. Neji's face didn't change, but Sasuke could watch as they blinked for a few seconds, fighting back the urge to activate byakugan. Sasuke slid his hand over, placing it atop Neji's hands, encompassing them. Neji continued after a moment of silence. "When I first met you... I didn't know we'd end up like this."

Sasuke snorted softly. "Neither did I. It's... a good thing, though." 

"It is" Sasuke was glad they didn't refute that, positive things coming out of his mouth weren't very common and only usually got out when it was just him and Neji together.

"I love you." Sasuke spoke quietly like a mouse hiding from a large cat.

"I love you too."


End file.
